01 August 2012

East Timor Legal News 01 August 2012 Source:
JSMP Press Release 27 july 2012 - On 23 June 2012, the Dili District Court conducted the final proceedings in a human trafficking case registered number 667/TDD/2011. The accused in that case was named Anita Siregar who is a widowed Indonesian citizen with three children.

The proceedings were the handing down of the Court’s verdict in the case which was presided over by Judge Antonino Goncalves, with the Public Prosecutor represented by Jose Ximenes and the accused was defended by Laura Valenti Lay from the Public Defender’s Office.

The interim Director of JSMP Casimiro dos Santos said that the Public Prosecutor has to have enough strong evidence to convict a perpetrator involved in the criminal activity of human trafficking because it is a serious crime that exploits human value for private interest that can not be justified.

Based on the charges brought by the Public Prosecutor, on 2 June 2011, the defendant arrived from Kupang, Indonesia and stayed in East Timor for 4 days after which she returned to Kupang on 6 June 2011 to organise seven women from Kupang to come back to East Timor on 19 June 2011. Three of those women stayed in the Dragon Bar and the other 4 stayed at the Star Bar in Dili.

Based on those several facts, the Public Prosecutor charged the defendant with violating Article 163 of the Criminal Code regarding human trafficking by bringing the women to East Timor in order to exploit them for karaoke, massage and sexual activities.

On the evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor, witnesses and the owner of the bars, the provisions of the referred Article had not be proven. In the proceedings, the Court analysed and examined the evidence and concluded that it had not been proven that the defendant had engaged in human trafficking because the evidence presented by the Public Prosecutor was insufficient. The Court therefore acquitted the defendant from all charges. (Translation by Warren L. Wright BA LLB, Editor, East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin)
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Original text of the JSMP report in Indonesian follows:Pengadilan Distrik Dili membebaskan terdakwa atas kasus perdagangan manusia JSMP Siaran Pers Periode: Juli 2012 Edisi: 27 Juli 2012 - Pada tanggal 23 Juli 2012, Pengadilan Distrik Dili mengadakan proses persidangan terakhir terhadap kasus perdagangan manusia, yang terdaftar dengan No. Perkara 667/TDD/2011.Terdakwa dalam kasus tersebut bernama Anita Siregar berkewarganegaraan Indonesia, berstatus janda dan memiliki tiga orang anak.